Stood Up
by Signusorion
Summary: The wrenching of his heart makes him always forgive the prefect for being late. Contains 1859 and TYB!Hibari
1. Chapter 1

**I was re-reading KHR and this happened. Gokudera might be slightly out of character.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own KHR or its characters.**

* * *

_Tick tock tick tock_

He watches the clock absentmindedly, willing it to speed up. It doesn't work. Instead, the hands of the clock seem to go slower and slower until each second becomes painfully dragged out.

Gokudera grits his teeth, diverting his attention down to the makeshift table for four, which was basically two tables for two pushed together. His usual spot in the slightly dingy diner. Their usual spot. He's still not sure why the bastard even bothers inviting him out to eat when he comes so late every time.

Still, the painful wrenching of his heart at the sight of the other man seems to distract him from the tardiness every time.

A bell above the entrance of the diner dings, signaling someone's arrival. He's about to turn and see who it could be when he hears giggling. Hibari doesn't giggle. His laugh is more short-lived, more of a haughty deep scoff.

It's a group of women. Gokudera signals the waitress, and orders something random from the menu. He's not that hungry, but he hopes that eating will help pass the time, and hopefully, the sight of him eating by himself will be awkward enough to keep the women from sitting near him.

No dice. The annoying girls sit on the table for two pushed against his table and all he can do is hope that none of them sit in front of him. One does anyway, but her coy giggling is slightly muted by the sound of the clock ticking. Gokudera scowls at the girl flitting eyelashes across from him, hoping she'll get the message, before he turns his attention back to the clock.

He quickly calculates how long he's been here, how late the prefect is, how long it would take the prefect to get to the diner walking at the pace he usually walks at. The calculations add to his disappointment and growing irritation.

His food arrives though, and he manages to distract himself in the steaming dish. He twiddles his thumbs, drums his fingers against the tabletop, chews absentmindedly, and eyes the clock. The girl across from him, slightly miffed at having her attentions ignored, leans forward, her lower arm pressing up against her chest to emphasize her breasts.

Gokudera half-expects Hibari to storm in and demand his seat back, but of course nothing happens. Instead, Gokudera relocates to a single two-person table for the girl's sake as doubts flood his mind. Maybe the prefect is being held up by delinquents at Nanimori. Maybe he fell asleep and Kusakabe forgot to wake him up. Maybe he forgot that he had invited the bomber out in the first place.

_Maybe Hibari just wanted him to make a fool of himself by waiting for nothing._

He scratches his head, debating for the first time whether or not he should just leave when the bell rings again, sending a jolt of electricity through his system. His enthusiasm dies when he sees the turftop filing in with the baseball idiot.

"Hey, Gokudera!" the baseball idiot calls to him, waving amiably.

"What the hell are you guys doing here?" Gokudera demands, getting to his feet.

The baseball idiot laughs nervously, scratching the back of his neck. "Uh, you see-"

"We're extremely sorry, but Hibari got into an extreme accident with the Ten Year Later Bazooka," the turftop interrupts, not looking the least bit sorry.

They step aside, but instead of the older Hibari strolling in, a little boy waddles into the diner, grinning and holding a ball.

"What the-" Gokudera is at a loss for words, even as some of the loud neighborhood kids follow the black-haired boy into the diner.

"Giannini extremely tampered with the bazooka!" the overly excited boxer continues.

So this is what held Hibari up. He's relieved, but disappointed at the same time.

Yamamoto goes over to little Hibari, gesturing to Gokudera. "Hey little guy, do you want to have lunch with uncle Gokudera?"

The boy looks up at Gokudera with earnest gray eyes that narrow slightly when they land on him. No spark of familiarity flares up in those eyes. Of course that would be the case. He wasn't the prefect of Nanimori yet. He's just an ordinary kid, even if he's Hibari. He can't read him quite like the normal one can.

The boy nods anyway, making the silver-haired bomber's heart wrench even as the boy continues, "After playing." Even as a child, he was a boy of few words.

Even as a child, nothing changes. The turftop and the baseball idiot sit near him, making conversation with him for the first time in a while. The teen Hibari had barred them from interacting too much with Gokudera, and Gokudera had never really missed it too much until now.

"You should have been there! Tsuna went crazy trying to figure out what to tell you, and what to tell Hibari after he goes back to normal," Yamamoto says, laughing loudly. "At least the boss'll have a day to figure that out!"

"Ha, as if I'd let the tenth get beat up by Hibari," Gokudera replies. He hasn't been touching it, but his food has slowly been disappearing since the turftop sat near him. He shoots Ryouhei with a glare.

"I am extremely hungry! My extreme training extremely builds up my extreme appetite!" the boxer reasons.

"You don't have to say extreme for every single little thing, turftop," Gokudera says, sighing. The three of them converse among themselves, but Gokudera's input slowly dwindles down to nothing. He glances over at the children running and playing around the diner, watches as a waitress hands Hibari a piece of candy and coos over how cute the boy is.

He suddenly wishes he wasn't such a stubborn bastard so he could do the same.

He manages to put up with half an hour of this before getting up and leaving.

"Wait, Gokudera!" Yamamoto calls. "Where are you going?"

"None of your business, baseball idiot," Gokudera answers irritably, not looking back as he steps out.

It didn't even matter if Hibari was a kid, or if he was the current Hibari; the skylark would always keep him waiting, wouldn't he?

* * *

**Somehow all my stories end up slightly or very abusive. :I**


	2. Chapter 2

**And this also happened. In the same day.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own these characters nor do I own KHR.**

* * *

He arrives at the tenth's house, not sure what he's seeking. The tenth welcomes him in with an uncertain smile, which Gokudera returns.

"Hey tenth! Sorry for bothering you," the bomber says, taking off his shoes at the entrance.

"Uh, it's, uh, fine...but aren't you supposed to be with Hibari?" Tsuna asks, glancing outside the door for any other visitors before closing it. Since all this mafia business had started, his house had become the headquarters for the strays of his group. Fuuta, Bianchi, I-pin, Reborn, and Lambo had all taken up residence in his house without asking. He's not sure if his house has any more room for yet another person living in it.

"Turftop and the baseball idiot are taking care of him, so I thought we should have some bonding time. You know, between the boss and his right hand man," Gokudera answers in a cheery voice.

Tsuna brightens up at this. He hasn't had much of a chance to relax with a friend in a while.

"Alright, Gokudera, I'll set up a video game in my room! There's this new game that came out and I think you're going to like it. It has lots of bombs and explosions..." the tenth gushes on and on about the game as they head up the stairs and to his room.

He's right though. Gokudera gets into the game pretty easily, manages to blow up all the bad guys. It's just like real life for him.

"Ha! I should use some of these moves," he growls, looking to the tenth for confirmation. The brunette looks at him with a soft smile, but his eyebrows are slightly furrowed.

"That would be a sight...is something wrong, Gokudera?" the tenth asks.

His grin freezes on his face, and he turns his attention back to the video game. "I wouldn't want to worry you with trivial things, tenth."

"Is it because Hibari's going to be a kid for a day?"

"No, it's probably for the best. That way he won't wreck anything, right?"

Tsuna's smile turns into a small frown. "Hmm.."

The bomber feels a twinge of guilt going through him. Sighing, he asks, "Tenth, is it normal for someone to be late all the time to dates they scheduled?"

"All the time? How late have they been?"

"Hours." Even he realizes how bad that sounds the moment it comes out of his mouth. Hours.

He's waited for that damn prefect like some stupid faithful dog for hours.

"Uh, wow, Gokudera. I never thought you could be that patient," the tenth comments, his smile back. Too bad Hibari doesn't seem to give a damn.

There were even times where Hibari would simply walk off without going into the diner simply because it was too crowded. Why did he even put up with it?

"Me neither," Gokudera whispers. The controller droops from his slackened hands until it drops onto the ground. "I'm going to crash on your bed for a bit. Sorry, tenth."

"Alright, Gokudera. Feel better," the tenth says softly, giving him a reassuring smile. Gokudera smiles back shakily before he turns and keels onto the bed. He has the best boss ever. He's not sure which other bosses would allow their subordinates, even their right hand men, to crash onto their beds.

It's a relatively warm and quiet summer day. He manages to doze off to the muted explosions and gunshots from the tenth's video game.

* * *

"Wake up."

His eyes fly open and he's greeted by the sight of Hibari's grumpy face. The sky outside the window is starting to take on a vivid orange hue, which means he hasn't been asleep for long. Hibari sits back, his black hair falling neatly over the top of his eyes. Gokudera sits up on an elbow, frowning at the kid.

The tenth stands in the doorway, smiling that reassuring smile before stepping out.

In the orange light, the kid Hibari looks almost special, as if he's glowing from the inside too. He looks nothing like the kid running around in the diner, playing like any other kid. His eyes too, have an unnatural intensity as they watch Gokudera.

"You didn't eat with me."

The bomber scoffs at this. It almost sounds like the kid cares.

"You made me wait for half a goddamn hour. What did you expect?" he shoots back. "It doesn't matter, anyway. You were having lots of fun playing, weren't you?"

"I wasn't hungry yet. So I played and got hungry after you left," the kid explains, not looking at all ashamed of himself. It makes sense, in a weird sort of way.

"What an obnoxious brat. You really expected me to wait for you?" he demands.

"I don't eat when I'm not hungry."

He gives up arguing. Hibari is just as stubborn no matter what age he is. "Fine, I don't care anymore." And with that, he collapses back onto the bed and rolls away, his back facing the boy sitting on the other side of the bed.

There's a silence.

And then there's a small hand pressing on his shoulder.

"Did you eat?" the kid asks.

"I did." He hears a small sigh behind him, and then the bed gives a little.

The next thing he's aware of is a small body curling up against his back and his own heart twisting painfully in his chest. He grabs the front of his shirt, clenching a fist against the left side of his chest to try and make his heartbeat stable.

He's soon put to sleep by the sound of the kid's deep, slow breathing.


	3. Chapter 3

**I AM UPDATING UNCHARACTERISTICALLY QUICKLY.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own KHR and its characters.**

* * *

He hears whispers and explosions from all around him, senses the shadows falling on him, feels a warm body shuffling on his right arm.

"Don't you want your bed back, Tsuna?"

"Uh, just wait for them to wake up. I don't really want to disturb them."

"Then we should really turn down the volume."

"I-I'll do it!"

_Crash!_

Gokudera sits up immediately, eyes wide open. It's now nighttime outside; it's been a while since he's had time to sleep the whole day away. Little Hibari has rolled off his upright arm, and Gokudera regrets getting up so quickly if only to let the boy sleep a moment longer. The sight of the tenth sprawled on the floor, rubbing his reddening nose, jolts him from his musings.

"Tenth!" Gokudera calls, catapulting himself off the bed. He momentarily forgets the boy who was sleeping on his arm and focuses his attention on the bossman. "Are you alright?"

Tsuna nods quickly, propping himself up on his elbows. The baseball idiot pauses the game for a moment and leaves the room, mumbling nonsense about ice packs. Gokudera glares at him as he walks out. The idiot should have watched over the tenth more carefully to prevent this from happening.

"Do you think I'm going to have to wear a bandage like Kyoko's brother all the time?" Tsuna jokes. He drops his hands from his face, grinning widely.

It looks like he's fine. The bomber sighs with relief, and suddenly, he remembers Hibari.

The boy's sitting on the edge of the bed, his feet hanging off it, and he's watching all of this with heavy-lidded eyes. He meets Gokudera's eyes, and yawns delicately, much like a cat would. It sends another jolt through Gokudera's heart and he looks away quickly. All of this had to be bad for his heart.

Yamamoto comes back whistling some stupid showtune, and he hands the ice pack to the tenth without even an apology for letting his boss injure himself in the first place.

"I know you just woke up, Gokudera, but you don't have to look so grumpy!" the baseball idiot says after taking one look at his face.

"Are you kidding me. Don't give me that crap! You let the boss hurt himself. You know he's too clumsy not to trip in a room full of wires!" Gokudera shouts.

"Hey, I'm not that clu-"

"You're right. I should have lowered the volume myself. The remote was right next to me, after all," Yamamoto says, looking as if he was really mulling it over.

"You idio-"

"Hey! Gokudera! Do you want to take Hibari over to your place? I don't have much room here," Tsuna interrupts, gesturing to the boy currently sitting on the bed. His eyes were closed and he seemed to be asleep judging from the way his head tilted downward.

"Alright, tenth! I'd be glad to since I've troubled you so much. Thank you for lending me your bed too." The bomber goes over to the bed and picks up the drowsy boy. He's slightly surprised by how light the kid is, and there's the heart-wrenching feeling again. He looks away from the boy again and sighs. He's had enough of this.

"Take care!" the tenth calls as the bomber walks out. He hears more explosions as he makes his way down the stairs. That game sure is something.

* * *

_The raven-haired teenager walks over to the piano, running his fingers over its smooth black surface. Gokudera slowly closes the door with a silent click._

_"What do you think, huh?" he asks with faked confidence._

_"You play?"_

_It's not the answer to his question, but he feels proud anyway. His heart thrums lightly in his chest as he makes his way over to the piano. It's the earlier days of their acquaintance before the failed lunch dates and the crippling nervousness. Before the deadly attacks that Hibari gives to his heart._

_Days when he could read the prefect as easily as the prefect could read him._

_His hands run over the keys of the piano, playing out the beginnings of Beethoven's Moonlight Sonata with ease. He turns to Hibari, who has a rare smile on his face._

_"You play well, herbivore."_

_That day, something about their relationship starts changing._

* * *

He wakes up to the kid shaking him almost desperately.

"What is it?" Gokudera groans, wanting nothing more than to place the pillow on his face and block out the boy's face.

"Let's eat together one day," the kid says before disappearing in a cloud of smoke. Gokudera's eyes widen and he reaches out, panicked by the sudden disappearance. When the smoke clears, he's holding onto an unamused prefect's jacket.

The other teen subtly pulls his jacket away from Gokudera's grasp, covering the movement by twisting his body and pulling out his metal tonfas.

"You have five seconds to explain, herbivore, before I bite you to death."

The bomber turns his gaze downwards and pulls his hand away.

"Gia-some idiot messed with the ten-year cannon. And you just happened to walk by the tenth's house when Lambo fired it. Stupid cow had it facing the wrong way, so you got hit by it. Hey! Don't take your anger out on me!" Hibari had started to raise the tonfas as if he was about to give Gokudera a beating.

In answer, the prefect flicks the weapons back into his sleeve. "I see."

There's a silence, and the only noise he hears is the loud beating of his heart.

"This means I never managed to make it to the diner?" Hibari questions, getting off of the bed.

"What the hell do you think? You're no different even when you're a kid! Your kid self expected me to wait while he played around." Gokudera runs a hand through his hair as he remembers the exasperating memory.

Hibari grabs the hand, tugging him closer. The bomber covers his chest with his free hand, trying to stop his heart from bursting out of his chest.

"Tomorrow, 3 P.M. I'll meet you at the diner."

Doubt fills Gokudera's mind. He's sure that if he goes, he'll be left waiting in the diner like so many times before. He grits his teeth in frustration, balling both his captured hand and his free hand into a fist.

"Bullshit you will!" he yells, lashing out with his fists, but to no avail. He's strong, but Hibari's stronger and he's seen through the frenzied attack.

"I will, herbivore. Don't doubt me," Hibari says calmly, though he has both of Gokudera's wrists in a vice-like grip. He presses a kiss to the bomber's fists with a smirk before leaving the apartment.

Gokudera's flabbergasted as he stares down at his hands, and his heart twists painfully when he wonders if he's being played around. He punches a pillow, imagining that it's the damned prefect's face because damn that man and damn his calm mask of a face.

* * *

**And then Gokudera has a heart attack and that is how the fanfic ends.**


	4. Chapter 4

**What, updating again? WHOAAAAA.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own the characters or KHR.**

* * *

_He makes a habit of it. Seeking out the prefect, that is. During lunch breaks, he first makes sure that the tenth will be properly guarded by placing the baseball idiot by the tenth's side and leaving him strict instructions. Then, he runs off to the disciplinary committee's office, where Hibari usually is. The jerk isn't there, so Gokudera asks Kusakabe where he went._

_It takes a bit of persuasion and some death threats to get one of the disciplinary committee members to cough up Hibari's location (Kusakabe is much too loyal for his own good) and so, Gokudera rushes to the rooftop, cursing his luck because it's the middle of winter and his jacket is back in the classroom. When he opens the door, he finds the roof empty._

_He's beginning to plan his revenge on the guy who gave him the wrong info when he hears a familiar voice from above._

_"No herbivores allowed."_

_He looks up, not seeing anyone, but he does see the ladder to that raised platform. He climbs the ladder, making sure to give the prefect his deadliest glare despite his teeth clattering from the cold._

_"What the hell is wrong with you? It's freakin' cold out h-here!" Gokudera stands next to the other teen who's lying down._

_"If you can't handle it, go back inside the school where you're supposed to be." The prefect's eyes look past him, gazing serenely at the sky._

_"Don't t-try to drive me a-away! I-I'm here to convince you to j-join the tenth!" he stutters, but not on purpose. Hoping to get warmer, he wraps his arms around himself._

_"I hate crowds," Hibari says, sitting up suddenly._

_Gokudera steps back, shifting into a fighting stance just in case the prefect's annoyed and wants to spar, but the teen's simply removing his own jacket and holding it up to him._

_"A-aren't you cold?" Gokudera asks, suspicious._

_The prefect gives him a look, and puts his jacket back on._

_"Hey, th-that's rude! Don't j-just offer me s-something and then t-take it back!"_

_"Shut up and go back inside, herbivore," Hibari growls, lying back down and closing his eyes._

_"N-not until you see all the b-benef-fits of working for the tenth!" Gokudera kneels down, whipping out the brochures he's prepared for just this occasion. He proceeds to go through all of them, opening them up for Hibari to look at even though the prefect's eyes are closed and his own hands are starting to feel numb from the cold._

_The prefect answers his proposal by beating him up and tossing his body down the stairs to the rooftop at the end of the lunch break. It's not the first time he's gotten his butt kicked by Hibari for trying to recruit him, but it's the first time the prefect's used his fists to do it._

_The tenth and the baseball idiot look horrified when Gokudera limps his way into the classroom, injured all over but grinning like a fool._

* * *

"Aren't you going?"

Gokudera looks up at the tenth, a cigarette hanging out from the corner of his mouth.

"Going where?" he asks, feigning ignorance.

The tenth fidgets, and Gokudera immediately feels guilty for lying.

"The diner."

The bomber turns his attention back to the screen. He wonders how close they are to completing the game, and tries hard not to look at the clock. He fails. It's still 2:30 P.M. He usually goes an hour before the meeting time just in case Hibari decides for once to arrive early. It hasn't happened so far, and it's never going to happen because he's never going ever again.

"H-Hibari gets scary when he's angry, you know," Tsuna warns him.

"It's fine, tenth! I won't let him hurt you!" Gokudera exclaims, grinning around the unlit cigarette.

"I-it's not tha-"

The phone rings downstairs and Tsuna runs out to answer it. Being considerate, Gokudera pauses the game and waits for the tenth to come back. He sighs, leaning back on his hands. Subconsciously, his gaze goes to the clock. He still can't believe he's ditching the prefect.

"Gokudera! It's for you!" Tsuna's voice calls from downstairs.

"Okay tenth!" As he gets up to go downstairs, he wonders who it could be. He didn't tell anyone he was going over to the tenth's house. He makes eye contact with Reborn on the stairs and the knowing smirk the arcobaleno baby has gives him chills down his back. Couldn't expect less from the world's number one hitman.

Gokudera takes the phone from the tenth's outstretched hand and says into it, "Hello?"

"Herbivore."

The bomber immediately hangs the phone up.

The phone immediately starts ringing again, just like in the horror movies.

"Gokudera?" The tenth looks concerned.

"It's a damned telemarketer! You know how stubborn they can get!" Gokudera half-yells, half-laughs. He takes a nervous look at the ringing phone. "We probably don't need to answer the phone! Ever again!"

His hand goes into his jacket, fingering the sticks of dynamite he has hidden there as he eyes the phone.

"Then we'll just unplug this," Gokudera reaches out to tug the wire connecting the phone, but quickly pulls it back just as a bullet buries itself into the wall.

"Why don't you answer it," Reborn's high-pitched voice says over the high-pitched "HIEEE" of the terrified tenth.

"I hate telemarketers," Gokudera answers, taking his chances defying the infant.

"It's rude not to answer the phone. When I call someone and they don't pick up, makes me want to shoot someone." And with that, the baby points his gun at the tenth.

"OH GOD GOKUDERA ANSWER IT PLEASE I DON'T WANT TO DIE."

Gokudera picks up the phone. "Hello?"

"You're late," Hibari's gruff voice says from the other end of the line. No comment about the bomber hanging up on him.

"You don't need me there to eat, do you?" From the corner of his eye, a smirking Reborn tilts his fedora up with his gun. Tsuna is just starting to calm down.

A tinny sigh rattles through the receiver. "You're mine, aren't you?"

Gokudera's hand shakes. He silently wills it to stay still. "I'm not yours!"

"If you're not coming over here, I'm going over there." And with that, the line goes dead.

The silver-haired teen slowly puts the phone back on the hook, looking shaken.

"Wh-what did he say?" the tenth asks.

"He's coming over here," Gokudera answers, dazed.

"HIEEEE, he's going to bite me to death!"

Gokudera watches as the tenth looks for a suitable hiding place, and he thinks back to the prefect's roundabout actions.

Sometimes, he misses the time when they still communicated with their fists. Back then, he understood the prefect better, felt more at ease in his company.

Now, there are soft kisses and gentle touches, but his heart pounds a mile a minute, threatens to rip itself out of his chest in the prefect's presence.

He's not sure which one he prefers.


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer: I do not own KHR or its characters.**

* * *

Sawada Tsunayoshi didn't make it a habit to eavesdrop on other people's conversations, but he had always been curious about what was going on between his cloud and storm guardians. Though everyone, even clueless Ryouhei, knew there was something between them, it was hardly discussed because Gokudera isn't the typical boy helplessly in love. He prefers to keep his business to himself, love life included.

So while from time to time the subject was brought up, nobody ever went into great detail under the bomber's murderous glare.

It never quite satisfies Tsuna's curiosity and he's worried that Hibari might suddenly decide to bite his right hand man to death, so he presses his ear against the crack in the doorway and listens in.

"Why are you at the herbivore's house?" That's Hibari's voice, coming out all calm but slightly threatening.

"I should be asking you that!" And that's Gokudera's, coming out so loud that Tsuna's neighbors could probably hear it from next door.

"I came to pick to you up."

"And then what? After today, you're just going to go back to keeping me waiting at that stupid diner! And why that diner? Why not some fancy restaurant? I know I'm no girl, but I at least have the good looks to deserve to be wined and dined in style!"

Is this what they were arguing about? Tsuna pulls a face as he scooches up against the wall to hear better. The two of them have fallen silent, or maybe they've started whispering. He's not sure.

Maybe if he had one of those stethoscopes that doctors use...

The door swings open. "What are you doing, Herbivore?"

"HIEEEE!" Sawada immediately goes into the fetal position, making sure to cover his head. "I DIDN'T MEAN TO EAVESDROP."

"Of course not! The tenth would never do something like that." Gokudera's head shows up from behind the door. "I bet you were just worried."

"Since it's crowded here, and there's no privacy..." Hibari trails off to glare at Lambo, I-pin, and Fuuta who had just run past. "I'm leaving. We'll talk later herbivore."

"Yeah whatever," Gokudera grumbles, giving the prefect a matching glare. Tsunayoshi watches with wide eyes as Hibari grabs Gokudera's collar and roughly kisses the off-guard teen. Though there's some hesitation, the bomber quickly pushes Hibari away and drags his arm across his mouth.

"You idiot!" he yells. "Don't do something like that in front of the tenth!" He turns to Tsuna with a worried expression after Hibari stalks off. Tsunayoshi's right hand man immediately prostrates himself. "I'm sorry we had to do that in your house, tenth!"

"I-it's fine!" Tsuna slowly gets up and frowns down at the teen in front of him. He's never liked standing above the bomber. "Gokudera, you can get up now..."

"Ah, yes, tenth!" Gokudera clambers to his feet, standing at attention. Tsuna can see that the aspiring right hand man is trying hard to be perky and diligent like he usually is.

"Gokudera..." Tsuna sighs. "Want to talk it over while we play the game?"

"Tenth," Gokudera whispers, a small smile on his face. "Thanks."

* * *

_Gokudera's eyes widen when half his cigarette is ripped off from the sheer force of the hit from the raging prefect's tonfa. He isn't given a second to think before the same tonfa comes crashing into the side of his face, knocking him off his feet._

_As he lies on the ground cradling his face and wondering what happened, the prefect sits next to him and snatches the remains of the cigarette out of his mouth._

_He now realizes why the prefect suddenly attacked him when he said hello, but that doesn't make it okay._

_"I'm going to get you back for this, you bastard," he grunts, a hand pressed against the side of his face as he gets up._

_Hibari doesn't say anything back, only smiles a small smile to show that he accepts the challenge._

_Theirs is a simple existence, where there's a silent understanding between them because both of them don't dare to put a name to their relationship. Friends? Rivals? Acquaintances? Gokudera isn't sure what they are._

_Hibari watches him sometimes as he passes by in the hallways of the school. Judging from the confused frown that the other teen sometimes has, he doesn't know either._

_Without a warning, Gokudera swings his fist at the prefect's face, feeling elated when his punch connects._

_"Ha! That's what you get!" he exclaims, jumping to his feet._

_Hibari takes a moment, then turns to him, a smirk on his face. "Herbivore...I'm going to bite you to death."_

_"Well, let the biting commence."_

* * *

"It was a lot easier when he was still kicking my ass..."

"Wh-what?" They've been playing the game in silence, and Gokudera's sudden outburst startles Tsuna, making him press the wrong button and waste his special weapon.

"Oh, sorry tenth! Did I just ruin the game for you?" Gokudera says, looking extremely ashamed of himself.

"No, it's fine. Video games are the one thing I'm kind of good at." Tsuna laughs to himself, and sighs. "Anyway...what were you saying?"

Gokudera scratches his head for a second and focuses on the game once more. "Well, this might sound weird, but I understand that bastard better when he's beating me up, or when I'm beating him up. Does that make any sense, tenth?"

Tsuna thinks for a moment, back to fights with various assailants and he finds that Gokudera's thinking doesn't seem all that strange. "Actually, I get it. When I'm fighting someone, I can feel their resolve with every move they make. And I feel like I understand their feelings because they're like my own." His voice sounds distant, even to himself. "I wonder why that is..."

"When you fight, you match your breathing, your pacing to your opponent's. You're forced to understand them better."

"Yeah that makes a lot of sense, tenth," Gokudera murmurs, wondering when Tsuna got so wise.

"I-I didn't say that, Gokudera," Tsuna stutters, looking around the room for the source of that all-knowing voice.

"Down here, stupid Tsuna," Reborn says from the space between Gokudera and Tsuna.

Tsuna jumps, almost tumbling over. He manages to collect his bearings enough to ask, "When did you get there?"

The baby ignores him and looks up at Gokudera with his dark, solemn eyes, forcing the bomber to pause the game and meet the baby's penetrating gaze.

"Talking is possibly the hardest fighting skill to master, especially for someone as temperamental as you, but you'll have to learn it someday. For now, do what you and Hibari do best, and communicate with your fists."

"R-really?" Gokudera looks at the arcobaleno with wide eyes, receiving only a nod in answer. Energized by the piece of advice, Gokudera jumps to his feet and runs off, calling, "Sorry tenth, but I have to do something!"

Tsuna watches his right hand man go, trying to reach out and stop him before he does something rash. He throws a glare down to Reborn, but the steady gaze that the baby gives in return rattles his resolve.

"D-don't just encourage teen violence!" Tsuna scolds before what little resolve he has leaves him forever.

"Shut up."

The tenth heir to the Vongola family let out a high-pitched scream as his hitman tutor proceeded to kick him in the face.

* * *

**Teen violence~**


	6. Chapter 6

**Random trivia. This fic was supposed to be three chapters long. True story. Something ran away with me there.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own KHR or its characters.**

* * *

"Hey, stupid, you wanted to talk? I'll talk," Gokudera growls, knocking against the door of the disciplinary office. Though it's summer, the prefect occupies the office like a second home. It's all too easy for Gokudera to sneak into the school past the slow janitor.

The door opens. The prefect doesn't look happy or victorious like Gokudera expected him to. Instead, for the first time, the other teen looks tired.

"Come in." Hibari turns his back on the bomber, and his gaze is drawn to the boy's shoulders. They're less straight than usual. Gokudera almost laughs.

The prospect of another "talk" is as daunting for Hibari as it is for Gokudera. Too bad he wasn't up for much talking. He pulls back his fist and punches the other teen in the back, but he holds back his strength.

_"Listen to me. I'm not trying to hurt you."_

Hibari swirls around quickly, tonfas raised. He hangs back though, and watches Gokudera with a small smirk on his face.

"What are you playing at, herbivore?" he asks, though he knows the answer already.

"Hit me," Gokudera says, grinning back. He doesn't expect the prefect to put all his strength into his blow and he finds himself blacking out on the floor.

_"I didn't like that you didn't use all your strength._"

The world stops being so dark for him and he opens his eyes to Hibari's face. The only sign of concern on the other teen's face is a slightly raised eyebrow.

Gokudera shakes off the stars and the blurriness in his vision as Hibari reaches out a hand. Before the hand can reach him, Gokudera flicks a stick of dynamite into the prefect's face.

_"Don't let your damn guard down."_

They soon lapse into a fast-paced battle, with flurried attacks based mostly on instinct. They trade blow after blow, taking out the mess in their minds and thoroughly destroying the disciplinary office.

"It's been a while!"Hibari grunts as he swings his tonfas down. Gokudera barely manages to protect his head and block the attack with his arms.

"Heh, it's only your own fault that we stopped doing this!" Gokudera retorts, rushing forward and headbutting the prefect.

The prefect's kick seems to lack its usual strength. _"I didn't want to hurt you."_

_I see_, Gokudera thinks, a grin coming onto his face when he realizes that previously, he had come to the conclusion that Hibari had stopped sparring with him because of boredom.

He strikes back with two blows, one he holds back, and one he puts all his force in. _"I'm not weak."_

Hibari blocks both and stops. With a carefree flick of his wrists, he drops his tonfas, resorting to his fists. To make it fair, Gokudera drops the sticks of unlit dynamite he's holding. It's not the entirety of his supply, but the symbolism will surely be clear to the prefect.

This is a vast improvement, though Gokudera's everything is hurting and keeping up with the prefect is difficult. And some things he couldn't communicate with just fighting.

"Why are you always so late anyway?" he demands.

Something is tossed his way. Assuming the worst, he ducks out of the way and covers his head. No explosions rack the building so he slowly opens his eyes. Hibari looks at him with an amused expression.

Gokudera glances back and there's something glittering in the wreckage of the trashed office. Hibari goes to pick it up and tosses it his way again. It's a ring, not a very fancy one compared to the ones Gokudera already owns, but it's still a ring.

The bomber can't help but laugh. It's a goddamn ring, and it's so cliche he doesn't even want to yell at the prefect anymore.

"It took me a long time to choose one for you herbivore. Your laughter tells me you want me to bite you to death." Hibari bends down and reaches for his tonfas.

"It's nice. Simple, but nice," Gokudera murmurs, holding the ring over his ring finger for a second. With a frown, he decides the action is too bold and slips the band of silver onto his thumb instead. It stands out among the other glittering fancy rings, and it's the first time they've ever looked tacky to him. He glances up at Hibari and realizes he's been holding his hand up, fingers spread out, like a girl trying out a wedding ring.

The bomber's face flushes in embarrassment but Hibari just looks on with a smile.

* * *

"Reborn can't you make them stop? They're wrecking my house!" Tsuna cries out, cowering under his bed. His tutor peeks underneath the bed and dives in.

Outside the room, crashes and explosions can be heard, along with angry screaming from a certain enraged storm guardian. Something about being stood up again.

"If you want it to stop, do it yourself," Reborn chirps, as Leon morphs into a gun.

"This is your fault in the first place! You told them to work out their problems by fighting!" Tsuna exclaims.

"They're healthy teenagers. A little violence now and then won't hurt them." The gun is pointed at Tsuna's face.

"W-wait, Reborn! Did I mention that I recently became a pacifis-"

But it was too late.

* * *

**The end.**


End file.
